Gujarati film Maaran wins Best Feature Film at Chicago South Asian Film Festival

Gujarati film Maaran, starring Yash Soni and Deeksha Joshi in lead roles, has won the Best Feature Film (jury) award at the 15^th edition of the Chicago South Asian Film Festival (CSAFF). The film also marks director Abhishek Jain’s D-Town comeback after a decade (he last directed Bey Yaar in 2014). Abhishek tells us, “The film is a social thriller that explores a dark theme and primarily, it is about women’s captivity in our society at large.There were entries from across South Asia and for a non-Bollywood, non-mainstream regional film to win this award means a lot to us. It’s not a run-of-the-mill film; it has a very international feel to it, and I am glad that our efforts have been recognised. We plan to take the film to a few other prestigious festivals before it is released in theatres.”

Talking about being away from D-Town for such a long time, Abhishek says, “I wanted to make a comeback with something better than what I have already done in this space. It was a challenging project for the entire team and both Deeksha and Yash underwent rigorous training at workshops before we started shooting. They deserve credit for breaking away from their popular image. My only brief to the team when we started shooting was that we should try to make a film that will have global appeal. There are times when we underestimate our audience and I am optimistic that they will like our film. There is this perception that Gujarati films are only about comedies or family dramas, but that’s not true.”
He adds, “I always wanted to work with Yash because he has amazing screen presence. He plays an anti-hero in this film and has done a fantastic job. Deeksha is someone who is aware about social issues and is a very proficient actor.”

Deeksha says, “This (award) is a huge achievement for Gujarati cinema. Maaranis the most precious film of my career till date and it made me rediscover my love for acting. The film has been made with a lot of sensitivity. It was always my dream to work with Abhishek Jain, and I am grateful to have got this dream role. It was a very challenging character to portray, very different from anything I have done before, and I loved every moment of it.”
She adds, “I worked extremely hard for this role and completely surrendered myself to the director’s vision. The film talks about very relevant issues and we were confident that we had made a good movie.”


Talking to us from Chicago, Yash, who received the award on behalf of the team, tells us, “I was speechless when the award was announced because this is a big achievement for Gujarati cinema. I also met Boman (Irani) sir, who also received an award at the festival. He congratulated me and I was star-struck. Such global recognition for Gujarati cinema feels fantastic. I play a very dark character in the film and it’s the kind of role that you don’t get to do too often. I am thankful to my director (Abhishek Jain), and also Jigar Shah (festival director) and Ketki Parikh (festival co-founder)”
He adds, “I feel humbled and grateful for this recognition. I met a lot of prominent filmmakers and actors at the festival, and they had good things to say about the film. I am excited for its theatrical release because my look in the film is very different.”